MODESTO, Calif., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- California Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza planned to announce his candidacy Tuesday for the seat held by fellow Democrat Gary Condit, whose seemingly iron grip on the 18th District has been loosened by the disappearance of intern Chandra Levy.
Cardoza planned to hold news conferences in Merced and Modesto to announce that he would run for the seat held since 1989 by his fellow Democrat and longtime friend, the Modesto Bee said Monday.
"I've really been honored by the depth of support I've received from people asking me to run," Cardoza told the Bee. "My biggest problem these days has been going into the grocery store and getting through the checkout line because so many people want me to run."
Cardoza, who was elected to the Assembly in 1996 and will not run again due to term limits, once worked for Condit and frequently has cooperated with the eight-term congressman on agricultural issues that are critical to the rural San Joaquin Valley district.
The Bee said a number of Cardoza's Assembly colleagues, including Speaker Robert Hertzberg, planned to attend Tuesday's events.
Condit, 53, is a ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, but his political future has been thrown into doubt by the Levy case despite Condit's seniority on Capitol Hill.
It was widely reported after Levy's disappearance from Washington last spring that she and Condit had been involved in a romantic relationship. Condit has publicly denied having an affair with Levy or playing any role in her disappearance, and Washington police -- to whom he reportedly admitted the affair -- do not consider him to be a suspect.
Despite the battering he took in the national news media last summer, Condit has been collecting petition signatures for a possible run for re-election next year. His prospects were further muddled recently by the re-drawing of the boundaries for the 18th District, which has been known in recent years as "Condit County" due to Condit's popularity.
Cardoza will be the second Democrat to challenge Condit, joining clergyman Tom Ciccarelli. Two Republicans -- State Sen. Dick Montieth and Modesto City Councilman Bill Conrad -- have announced their candidacies.
